Advice on Sizing truck Requested

UncleFudd wrote:
First we want to thank all of you for your advice getting us from our motor home to the fifth wheel. RV folks are the best, always been that way.
Now we have reached the stage of configuring a tow machine for the Cedar Creek 36 CKTS w/TrailAir Air Ride pin box we have ordered. Dry weight of 36CKTS listed as 12,076, GVWR 16,389. GCC a huge 4,313. Hitch wght 2389. We travel lite, realizing long ago that nothing rides free our cargo would add way less than 2,000 lbs.
Hitch selected is Demco Hijacker 18K Autoslide setup to "plug and play" w/Ford 5th wheel Trailer Tow Package that includes under-bed-frame crossmember and attachment points. The Hijacker does not require a pin box adapter with the TailAir and weighs 350 lbs.
Truck will be Ford 4x2,6 3/4 short bed crew cab w/diesel. The puzzle is which truck is enough to safely tow the trailer with a reasonable margin. Both the F250 & F350 crew cab show 5th wheel towing -max. loaded trailer wght at 16,300. Brakes are same, wheel size 18". Rear axle rating F250 6,200 F350 7,280. The confusing area is GVWR F250 4x2 10,000, Payload weight rating 3,640. F350 GVWR 10,000 Payload rating 3,610. The F350 brochure chart also lists F350 with GVWR 10,200 Payload 3,810, GVWR 10,700 Payload 4,260 and GVWR 11,400 Payload 4,300.
These must be available options but the online build your truck only has the 10,000 as the F350 GVWR. The other weights are not offered as an option. The F350 costs $900 more and would ride rougher than F250. Would the F250 work with rear air bags added or should we go with the F350 at one of the higher GVWRs assuming they are available?
Please relying on your experience and expertise to get this right without going to extreme. As you are aware it is important to get this right the first time, driving the rig onto a scales unfortunately is after the fact not a good thing.
As always Thanks for your help,
Jim

I have been down this very road with a 2011 F350SRW CC SB 6.7 diesel...and a 14000# GVW Heartland Big Horn...pin weight of about 2100 pounds when you take the 2 scooters a out of the box...yes. it has been to the scales. I was within 150 pounds of the RAWR...You will not have enough truck for that trailer with even with a F350 SRW version...You will be thousands over the ratings of the F250...

Using your Cedar Creek numbers, the empty pin is 2389#'s. Assuming that this weight is correct, doubtful by the way, add 20% of your 2000 pounds of stuff to that weight and you have 2789#'s. This will put you over the GVW of the truck and may even exceed RAWR as well...this trailer needs a Dually...you can pull it with a SRW if you are not concerned about the ratings...air bags will not raise the rating

Regards